A cup holder is a removable device that encompasses a cup to provide added features to the cup. These features can include gripability, insulation value, and decoration. By gripability it is meant that the cup and holder combination is easier to hold in a human hand. Insulation value is important if the cup is holding hot or cold liquids, particularly if the cup is a thin disposable paper cup which has little inherent insulation value. Decoration can include features that make the cup more appealing, such as texture or color, or features that communicate to the user of the holder, such as advertising or instructions.
A conventional cup holder includes a three-dimensional body into which the cup is inserted. These bodies can be in the shape of an annular ring, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,028,566, or in the shape of a cup that is oversized relative to the cup to be held, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,549. In order to provide insulation value from a material that is thermally conductive, such as paper, the cup holders are usually provided with annular grooves or vertical flutes so that the holder is only in contact with the cup at the valleys in the grooves or flutes. These grooves or flutes provide a structural integrity to the cup holders such that they must be packaged in substantially the same form as they will be used. Thus a significant volume is required to store a quantity of the cup holders. Therefore it is cumbersome for a retailer selling drinks in cups to use the cup holders because a significant amount of shelf space is required just to have a sufficient quantity of cup holders accessible for immediate use.
It is an object of the invention to reduce the volume required to store cup holders.
Conventional cup holders may also require significant amounts of handling and operations to be assembled. It is a further object of this invention to reduce the number of steps involved in making a cup holder ready for ultimate use by the consumer.
An object of the invention is to produce a cup holder by bending a sheet and interlocking the ends.
It is a further object of the invention to improve the gripability of a cup.
Yet another object of the invention is to thermally insulate the hand of a user from the liquid held in a cup.
Another object of the invention is to form a cup holder from a substantially fiat sheet of pressed paper pulp.